April 23, 2004

            At 4:15 am last Tuesday morning, our telephone shattered the quiet dreaming of our slumber.  My sister-in-law was phoning us to tell us that my father had stopped breathing and, in spite of her and my brother’s attempts to save him with CPR and the EMT’s best efforts, there was nothing that could be done.  He was gone.

            His death caught us by surprise actually.  In spite of several serious surgeries (one major one being only a week prior to his passing) and his ongoing fight with throat cancer, he seemed to be gaining strength rapidly.  His doctors had even shared with us their optimism for his recovery.

            There are times, however, when our expectations disappoint us and the unexpected invites itself into the living room of our lives… often not even wiping its feet first!  It is easy in these moments when we find ourselves dealing with death, loss and grief, for us to lose our sense of perspective.

            Death is especially like that.  As it is the most mysterious of human experiences, and because of the lack of empirical data regarding the soul and its final destiny, this perceived vacuum of knowledge begs to be filled.

            And filled it is.  We will speculate things unknown, fabricate things unfounded, and regurgitate the speculations and fabrications of others until we have either piecemealed some odd shaped ideology  together (a theological “house of cards” if you will) or until we’ve mixed ourselves up so much that we have absolutely no sense of assurance at all about our spiritual destiny.

            But when one crosses the threshold of forever, it is awfully nice to have some assurances.

            In 1 Thessalonians 4 it is written in verses 13 and 14 that, “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.”  How important it is then to understand God’s provision for hope in our lives.  Hope, according to the Scriptures, can only really be found in Jesus.

            Ah, but what a hope we have in Christ!  “…And so we will be with the Lord forever!” (1 Thessalonians 4:17b NIV).  God’s promises are our true hope.  What is His promise here?  That in Christ we will be with Him forever.  And because it is a promise from God, we KNOW that it will be fully accomplished.

            The last couple of years of my father’s life were overshadowed by pain and suffering, much of it related to the cancer.  How wearying was his fight!  How heavy was his burden!  How merciless was the ogre of despair as dad labored along this path.

            Yet, he never fully succumbed to it.  Instead, I heard him periodically affirm his confidence in Christ, his trust in the Savior’s love and his reliance on God’s perfect will.  He had plenty of “downs” and only a few ups, but he kept coming back to God’s grace.

            But now my father no longer fights.  He is no longer weary.  He no longer has pain.  Even his heartaches and fears have vanished like wisps of smoke.  A man cannot be more “healed” than is my father as he stands now in the presence of the heavenly Father.

            Such hope, friend, belongs to all who will truly place their trust in Him.  Such hope can be yours today.

(Thom Mollohan has ministered in southern Ohio the past eight years and is currently the pastor of Pathway Community Church.   He and his wife are the parents of three children.   He may be reached by email at pastorthom@pathwaygallipolis.com).